News of Interest

Recent news relating to oil and gas exploration and development in Texas:

Dune Sagebrush Lizard — Good article on efforts of industry and State regulators to avoid problems raised by possible listing of the Dune Sagebrush Lizard under the Endangered Species Act. Here is a map of the lizard’s habitat – right in the middle of the Permian Basin.

Earthquakes in the Oil Patch — Earthquakes in and around Azle, in the Barnett Shale, have caused quite a stir. Here’s a good article from the San Antonio News. Everyone seems to agree that the quakes are caused by injection wells, except the Texas Railroad Commission, which until recently called the connection “hypothetical”. After one of the Commissioners, David Porter, faced angry homeowners at a town hall meeting in Azle, he called for the RRC to hire its own seismologist. Azle residents are planning a bus trip to Austin to attend the next RRC conference in protest.

Open Position on Railroad Commission Draws Seven Candidates — They are Ray Keller, Stefani Carter, Becky Berger, Malachi Boyuls, Wayne Christian, Ryan Sitton, and Joe Pool Jr. Few landowners realize how important the Commissioners are to their interests, and landowners should pay attention to the race. The Commission is often a springboard to running for higher office. Barry Smitherman, currently a commissioner, is running for Texas Attorney General. The race is mostly funded by the oil and gas industry and its lobbyists.

Most Texans (70%) believe global warming is happening. Relatively few (14%) believe it is not.

Fewer than half of Texans (44%) believe that if global warming is happening, it is caused mostly by human activities. By contrast, 31% believe it is caused mostly by natural changes in the environment, while 11% believe it is a combination of the two causes.

Texans think global warming is important and are worried about it. About three in four (73%) say the issue of global warming is at least somewhat important to them personally. About half (54%) are at least somewhat worried about it.

Though virtually all climate scientists agree human-caused global warming is happening, many Texans, like most Americans, are unaware of this fact. Nearly half (47%) believe that “there is a lot of disagreement among scientists” about whether or not global warming is happening. Fewer(43%) believe most scientists think that global warming is happening.

Among those who believe global warming is happening, solid majorities believe it is currently having a large or moderate influence on the severity of heat waves (84%), drought (80%), and wildfires (72%) in Texas.

Among Texans who believe global warming is happening, large majorities expect to see a myriad of negative effects over the next 50 years. Nearly all anticipate more heat waves (95%) and increased drought and water shortages (92%) in Texas due to global warming. More than eight in ten believe Texas will experience worse storms, hurricanes, or tornadoes (87%), declining numbers of fish and native wildlife (86%), and increased allergies, asthma, infectious diseases, or other health problems (85%) due to global warming.

More than half of Texans say that more should be done about global warming at all levels of government–from Congress (62%) and President Obama (57%), to Governor Perry (59%) and Texas’s state legislature (56%), to local government officials (60%). However, even larger numbers of Texans believe that citizens themselves (69%) and corporations and industry (68%) should be doing more to address climate change.

Over half of Texans (55%) say the United States should reduce greenhouse gas emissions regardless of whether or not other countries do the same.

Many Texans believe that individual action, and especially collective action, can be effective in addressing global warming. Among those who believe global warming is happening, most (89%) say their own actions would reduce their personal contribution to global warming at least a little.

Virtually all Texans who believe global warming is happening say that if the same actions were taken by most people in the U.S. (96%) or around the world (96%), it would reduce global warming a little, some, or a lot. A majority of Texans (58%) say that President Obama is very or somewhat believable when speaking about energy- and climate-related issues. Half (50%) say Governor Rick Perry is very or somewhat believable regarding the same issues and four in ten (43%) say he is not very or not at all believable. Fewer than half of Texans say that either Senator Ted Cruz (46%) or Senator JohnCornyn (44%) is believable regarding energy and climate issues.

UT Concludes that Fracing Reduces Water Use. Researchers at the University of Texas have concluded that hydraulic fracturing actually reduces the amount of water used, by making it easier for generators to switch from coal plants to gas-fired plants, which use less water. “The bottom line is that hydraulic fracturing, by boosting natural gas production and moving the state from water-intensive coal technologies, makes our electric power system more drought resilient,” said Bridget Scanlon, senior research scientist at the University of Texas’s Bureau of Economic Geology and the lead author on the study. Meanwhile, a report from the San Antonio Express News says that water use for fracing in the Eagle Ford Shale has greatly exceeded expectations; between 2011 and 2013, operators at 3,500 Eagle Ford wells reported using nearly 44,000 acre-feet of water — more than 153,000 San Antonio residents would use on one year.

Micro-Windmills May One Day Power Your Smart Phone. This from Forbes. Here’s a photo:

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